TUC, FMBN partner on 3.5m housing scheme

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has said it will partner and work with Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) on the National Housing Fund (NHF) for the provision of minimum of 3.5 million housing units of various ranges for workers in the next 15 years. This will also be in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The housing scheme has the necessary infractructure.

In a communiqué signed by the TUC National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, after its National Executive Council (NEC) in Kaduna, the Congress said good and affordable shelter is a critical issue of major interest to workers, adding that there was need to provide good shelter for every worker.

The TUC decried the situation where many workers who religiously contributed to previous housing schemes of the Federal Government did not get the houses or any refund of their contributions. The Congress was particularly bitter by the fact that most records of such contributions were not properly kept by the project operators which include both the federal and state governments.

TUC lamented the high-cost of the houses which made the houses to be essentially beyond the reach of the average worker.

TUC said it will give the FMBN a trial period of one year to show substantial commitment to the project, threatening to back out of the project should the bank show any sign of unseriousness.

“That the TUC and NLC must be fully carried along from start to finish of the project. That is, from conceptualisation to planning, costing, building supervision and allocation of the houses. To this end, the TUC insists that the labour centres must be duly represented in the boards of the FMBN, NHF and other relevant bodies involved in housing projects for workers.

“FMBN must render monthly progress reports on the project to the two labour centres and ensure that all pre-existing, present and future records of NHF contributions made by workers are duly updated and made readily and easily accessible to the contributors,” the communique read in part.

It added that full refund of contributions plus accrued interest thereon shall be immediately made to workers who were wrongfully denied the houses under previous schemes.

The communique noted: “That relevant portions of the law be reviewed to compel employers to be more transparent and accountable to their workers on matters relating to remission of contributions to the NHF on behalf of the workers as and when due.”